No Coincidence
by Corgin
Summary: Back from her adventurous summer internship, university life is boring - if not depressing - for Darcy. However, she can't help but feel there's something rather odd about her handsome Norse mythology tutor...
1. The King of Lies

A/N: Penname 'Corgin', previously 'Figg' - Author of Darcy x Loki 'Things Left Unsaid'.

**No Coincidence**

**By: Thessaly Corgin (Corgin)**

**Chapter 1: The King of Lies**

o

Nothing was going to be the same. Nothing would _ever_ be the same. Regular life was just so _boring_, there was never anything to do. Luckily for Darcy, the summer was coming to an end and it was time for her to go back to her final year at university, which would give her something to do. Jane hugged her.

"It's been a pleasure working with you, Darcy. I hope it was worth the university credits!"

Darcy smiled sadly - she didn't care about the credits anymore, she never wanted to leave. After the disappearance of Jane's little boy-toy the trio had spent the rest of the summer chasing storms, which had been fairly exciting. Camp outs, ghost stories, warm nights under the stars... for once in her life Darcy didn't feel outcasted or odd - she simply felt a part of the crew. Even Erik, who had the habit of lecturing her, had loosened up and felt like a father to her.

"Can I come back next year?"

She asked tearfully, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Erik loaded her things onto the bus and hugged her as well.

"It's okay kid - next summer you'll have a big shiny bachelors degree and we might even be able to pay you! If you send us an email we can head over for your graduation - I'm sure Jane would love to go to New York."

Jane flashed a bright smile, "Oh, I'd love to! That's a great idea. I'm sure this year will go incredibly quick, Darcy, stop looking so grim! And I don't want to sound like your mother, but don't forget to register for your classes when you get home. Did you end up getting your apartment sorted out?"

Darcy rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Jeez, I'm a scatter brain but you've gotta cut me some slack - I wouldn't be leaving if I had nowhere to live. My scholarship pays for student housing as well, so I'll get to move right back in to my university owned shoebox."

After a few more parting words Darcy jumped onto the bus, and watched everything she had grown to love slide away as the bus pulled out of the city and headed towards New Mexico Airport. There were no direct flights to New York, so she had to stop over in Colorado Airport - she didn't complain, because the first thing she did when she hopped off the plane was head straight for the electronics store in the terminal and buy a new iPod. SHIELD told them that they would return all of the electronic equipment that was confiscated, but apparently her iPod didn't count or had been 'misplaced.'

Darcy dozed on the train from the airport into the city, feeling profoundly bored and sorry for herself. Even as she surfaced in the East Village of Manhattan, Darcy felt absolutely no form of passion or relief, just a growing dread that the dull feeling wasn't going to fade any time soon. By the time she finally managed to drag her suitcase up the steps of the building she lived in, she was legitimately tired. She rang the bell on the door, and after ringing it a few more times and waiting for a few minutes, she knocked. She was almost instantly met by someone opening the door.

"The bell's broken."

The girl who answered the door said, before quickly walking away. Darcy was glad that she had lived in the building previously, or she would have no idea what to do.

"No.. I don't care what he says, we don't have any rooms left and I'm not kicking a kid out... well tell him to go find a bloody apartment somewhere else in New York City... Do I have to say no again? ... well ... I ... I mean no disrespect but housing around here is seriously sought after ... yes? ... okay, well, send him over."

Darcy heard the sound of a telephone being put down in the property manager's - Mr. Denny's - office. He walked out of the room, obviously flustered. Mr. Denny immediately saw Darcy and smiled broadly.

"Ah! Miss Lewis, wonderful to see you! You're just the lady I was looking to talk to, let me take your suitcase."

He took her suit case with her and they began to climb the stairs.

"Now look, I know you enjoy being one of the older students here and taking care of our little freshmen... and by the looks of things I'm going to have to take another older student. I know how you feel about working with other people, but the accommodation offices from the university say he's a wonderful man... I'm sure that the two of you can figure things out."

Darcy saw a bead of sweat run down Mr. Denny's face, and wondered if whoever was on the phone had been threatening him. She shrugged.

"I don't care, that's alright. Maybe it's about time I start being social."

They got to her room and he put the suit case on the ground.

"Don't worry, we'll put him at the other end of the building so you shouldn't have to deal with him too often, and he won't be moving in for another couple of weeks. You have time!"

Darcy gave him a shallow smile as Mr. Denny turned to leave, before unpacking her bags. Her room was tiny to say the least - a single bed, a small desk and chair, and a window that looked out onto the busy street. Once she had unpacked everything she took out her diary and sat on her bed,

_Dear Diary,_

_I've been back in New York for three hours and my life already sucks again. I'm back to living in my little shoebox world on a little island full of sky scrapers, at a university for rich kids in a city that never shuts up. _

She looked at the words on the page and scribbled them out, as she often did with anything she wrote down. She threw the little book down onto the ground, and quietly began to cry.

o

"What do you mean I have to take one more course?"

Darcy's voice was angry but tired, lacking the volume of aggression.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but you need one more elective in order to complete your degree by the end of the year. It can just be a first year course if you'd like. Would you like a list of all the options?"

Darcy took a deep breath, wondering how she had managed to screw that up in course planning. She nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I would, that sound lovely. Thank you."

For the week she had been back in New York she had hardly slept, and found herself wandering the city late at night. Despite what the movies said, wandering the East Village of New York was actually an incredibly safe thing to do, even as a young woman. There were so many students from the university out and about that it created a large crowd at all hours of the day. The academic adviser handed Darcy a printed out list of course names, so she ran her finger down the list as she skimmed the classes. They were all pretty basic, and painfully boring.

"Introduction to Norse Mythology?"

She said with surprise. The advisor shrugged.

"Yeah, they're running that one this year because the lecturer finally got some grad student to teach tutorials. Usually no one shows any interest."

"I'll take it."

Darcy knew it would be incredibly easy for her because of her constantly mythology lessons from Erik and Jane over the course of the summer, and her first hand experience with a god himself. The adviser looked surprised.

"You'll take it? Well, okay then. Just give me a second to enroll you in that one and you'll be all set..."

o

"Norse Mythology consists of a set of myths and legends based on the worship of deities in ancient Scandinavia. You may recognize some of these deities from pop culture, or have read about them before. Some examples of more popular deities or gods are Thor and Loki, the heroic hammer wielder and maleficent trickster..."

Darcy was beginning to think that she made a mistake. Not only was she surrounded by freshmen, the lecturer of the class was some old man who could hardly see two feet in front of him. He spoke right off of a piece of paper in a monotone voice, and wasn't even using a powerpoint presentation to make it less agonizing. Darcy had her head down on her desk and was trying desperately to doze. The man drawled on and on and on, until finally he shut up and the class was over. Darcy felt like she had been through a war. She realized to her horror that directly after the lecture she had a tutorial, and that it would probably be just as boring.

She ran into the small room that the tutorial was held in and took a seat near the front like she usually did, preparing for the worst. She was usually able to deal with boring tutorials by engaging whoever the teacher was in conversation and slowly steering them off topic. Everyone else in the class appeared as dopy as she was after lecture, so she was glad to see she wasn't out of line by being dreadfully bored.

"Stop looking like someone in your family's died, you're paying to be at school."

Darcy's eyes snapped up to the man at the front of the room, who was leaning against a table with a coffee in his hand. He was tall and slender with a pale angular face, with eyes that glared cat green beneath high defined eyebrows. His face was framed by dark hair pushed back behind his ears that fell a few inches above his shoulders. He was wearing long dark pants and a long black jacket, with a white collared shirt and a green tie. What Darcy found most peculiar, however, wasn't his refined beauty but the long jagged scar that stretched from his ear down his neck, disappearing under his collar. She looked away suddenly when he realized she was gawking.

"I'm your tutor here, in case you didn't figure that out, and I'm going to make sure you understand exactly what goes on in Norse mythology. Now, put up your hand and tell me who your favorite deity is, based on what you learned today."

A student at the back of the class put up their hand, and the tutor nodded at them.

"Thor," the boy said, "he's like a viking or some shit."

The tutor laughed bitterly.

"You see, that's where you're wrong. You say Thor because you've been told he's a noble god in comparison to his counterpart. Someone give me another answer."

A girl put up her hand as she flicked through the text book, "Balder." she said. The tutor snorted.

"Look - you just did it again! You know what they call him? You read it right out of the text book, so obviously you know. Balder the Good. _Good. _You like him because he's _good _ and _wholesome. _Next!"

"Odin."

"Odin Allfather. You like Odin because he's powerful. Next!"

"Sif?"

"No. Just no. Who's going to say the name we're avoiding?"

Darcy put up her hand, even though she was amused by the failure of everyone else.

"Loki. King of Lies."

She didn't look up, or make eye contact with the tutor as she said it, but somehow she knew that he was grinning.

"There we go! This lovely lady, named..."

"Darcy."

"Darcy..."

He stopped talking, and Darcy could have sworn she could hear him thinking. He snapped back into animation.

"Darcy has said exactly what I was looking for."

He picked up a white board marker and wrote LOKI on the board in handwriting. Below it he wrote an email address, a room number and a time.

"My name is Loki, you can call me King of Lies if you so desire, and this is the email I can be contacted by. This is my office, and these are my open office hours, so you can come by my office any time during these hours. Now, I'm afraid we have no content to go over today, since it's the first day of classes, so... you're free to go."

Darcy stood up right away, and started heading for the door, but turned around when Loki addressed her.

"You. Can I see you in my office at one o'clock?"

"Is your name actually Loki?"

"Would I lie?"

Darcy had a bad feeling.

"Why do you need me in your office?"

"Well, I was going to ask if you'd like to be the class representative, seeing as you already seem knowledgable, but I'll ask someone else."

He picked up his bag and promptly left the room, leaving Darcy to wonder exactly how he knew she was already knowledgable. She had absolutely no intention of going anywhere near his office.


	2. Nothing Ever Goes According to Plan

**No Coincidence**

**By: Thessaly Corgin (Corgin)**

**Chapter 2: Nothing Ever Goes According to Plan.**

o

"Can anyone answer my question?"

Loki looked around the room - twenty-four dull eyed students stared back at him... and one bright eyed eager one with her hand up.

"Okay, anyone other than Darcy. She isn't going to be there to answer all of the questions for you on the test next week, so you might want to start thinking for yourself. I'll ask you again, does anyone want to explain to the rest of the class the concept of the Bifröst?"

Again, there was absolutely no reaction. Over the last few weeks he had heard every question imaginable - "What kind of parent names their son Loki? Isn't he some jackass or something?" "Why do you paint your nails black? They make you look like a girl." He was beginning to wonder what kind of terrible parents had raised all of these children, seeing as they had absolutely no respect for their superiors.

"If you're all going to be shy, I'll explain. And write it down, don't just look at me blankly. In mythology the Bifröst is a 'bridge' or link between Asgard, world of the gods, and Midgard, Earth. It's often described as the 'Rainbow Bridge'."

Darcy was furiously scribbling it down, but none of the other students were moving a muscle. That's the different between freshmen and fourth years, Loki thought to himself, the fourth years actually have study habits.

"I can't stand the sound of my own voice anymore, class over. Don't come back next week unless you actually want to participate, it's frustrating."

He ran a hand through his hand and sighed, putting his copy of the textbook back into his leather messenger bag as the students flocked out of the classroom. Darcy sat down on the desk.

"So what kind of name _is _Loki? Did your parents have any idea what it meant when they gave it to you?"

Bent over his bag, Loki took a sidelong glance at the girl. She had been stubbornly ignoring him for three weeks, refusing to talk about anything other than classwork, which was trying his patience. Her change of heart was intriguing.

"Last time I checked I'm your teacher and it's not polite to interrogate me about my past. If you must know, I'm Norwegian and my mother appreciate folk lore. And what do you mean _what it meant?_ Loki was by no means an evil deity, he just took his jokes too far. More often than not Asgard relied on him for help. And don't debate with me on that one, I'm the one with the doctorate in Mythology, not you."

Loki felt like a predator talking to the young girl, every word coming out of his mouth an easy lie. Well, almost all of it. It gave him a thrill to know that she was still absolutely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't named _after _Loki... and he wondered how long it would take her to figure it out. He was hoping he'd at least have another weak to lay down a foundation of trust between them before she ruined it with her curiosity. Once she did he would probably have to kill her or leave the city himself, but until then he would just continue feeling like a cat playing with a mouse. Darcy looked confused and slightly suspicious.

"You don't sound Norwegian, you sound British... and if you have a doctorate why aren't you the lecturer of this course as well?"

He shrugged and wrapped his scarf around his neck a couple times.

"That old man's had his eye on this course forever. It doesn't matter that we have equal qualifications, so far as he's concerned I'm some ignorant young child who isn't capable."

"You are pretty young..."

Loki cursed to himself - she was already asking too many questions.

"You have no idea how old I am. Now if you excuse me, Miss Lewis, I have to leave."

He threw his bag over his shoulder and quickly walked out of the classroom without a parting smile or wave, making way for the stairs as fast as possible. As he walked swiftly down the hallway he heard Darcy walk out of the room and stop, presumably watching him as he walked away. He ran up to his office and looked around, making sure that Darcy didn't decide to follow him further than the bottom floor. Pleased to see that the hallways were barren, he slipped into the office, closed the door and pulled a laptop out of the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet. He opened it and fiddled with it for a few minutes, before the SHIELD database popped up. He didn't exactly understand computers - he'd only been wandering around Earth for five months or so - but it was painfully easy to get into any of SHIELD's software with his magic, and he already knew almost every password the system required since he had spent a significant amount of time shifting around their facilities in the shadows.

'STAFF; LEWIS, DARCY"

He typed. As soon as he pressed enter a picture of her popped up, along with her birth date and various other information.

"Let's see here..."

He mumbled, scanning the information. He had already determined that Darcy was going to be a valuable tool in doing... whatever he decided to do, he hadn't decided. Maybe he would just mess with her head, maybe he would use her for something bigger. Her close relationship with Jane and Erik made her a surprisingly useful little pawn, and if he was able to win her trust he might even be so lucky to make it into SHIELD himself without too much manipulation. His little mission on the computer was to find out any information that could help him strike up some form of friendship. He pulled out a black notebook and starting writing things down.

_Darcy Lewis, 22 years of age, caucasian American, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eldest child to single mother Irene Lewis, 38, and has a 17 year old sister, Rita Lewis, both of which live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Father left when Darcy was 5, slightly before the birth of her younger sister. Mother never remarried._

Loki bit the back of his pen, wondering if he could prey on Darcy's lack of father figure in her life. The fact that Darcy's mother was only about 16 when Darcy was born meant that Darcy probably also had strong opinions on parenting or even sexuality. He guessed that she had learned from her mother's mistakes, seeing as she appeared to be a quite reserved young woman when it came to dating. Loki didn't know exactly how SHIELD had a record of all of her past relationships, but the list was rather short and sparse. He continued reading through the database, scribbling down things about her that seemed exploitable. He was quite glad that SHIELD was so thorough in their background checks, it was making his job much easier. He was still writing things down when the door opened, and Darcy walked in. He just about jumped out of his skin, slamming the laptop shut and shoving the little book in his bag.

"Damn it woman, have you ever heart of knocking?"

He blushed slightly, feeling dirty for perving on her personal information. She blushed as well, obviously feeling uncomfortable after catching him off guard. Regardless, she sat down across from him.

"I - sorry. I didn't even think. I'm here because I've been thinking for a few weeks, and I think it would be wise for me to take up your offer of class representative. I've graduating this year so some leadership thingies to put on my resume aren't such a bad idea."

_You don't need a resume, someone's already got their eye on you... _ he thought, remembering the 'STAFF' tag on her SHIELD profile. He wondered if she knew that SHIELD were planning on picking her up after she graduated. He smiled sweetly.

"Of course! It's a great thing to put on your resume, and isn't too much work at all. Can you just fill in a form for me?"

He leaned back in his chair and opened up a drawer, pulling out a sheet of paper. As Darcy started writing down her details, he couldn't help but feel proud of himself - three weeks in and he already had multiple levels of power he could use on her to get what he wanted. However... even though she appeared a little bit ditzy, she was hard working and cautious, and he couldn't help but feel slightly nervous that she was already on to him. He took the sheet back from her.

"Wonderful! Thank you very much."

He took the form from Darcy, his fingers grazing hers. Darcy blushed again and mumbled a few words, before excusing herself from the room. Loki smiled to himself - it was going to be far easier than he thought to work his way into Darcy Lewis's little world.

o

Darcy _hated_ her mother. _Hated. _The only reason there was still any form of communication between them was because of her little sister, Rita. Darcy loved Rita beyond belief and Rita just wanted everyone to get along. Of course, her little sister was born after her father left, so she had no idea what the strained family dynamic felt like and how horrible her mother could be - Rita would always be the one her mother doted on. The poor girl was just starting to get to the age where she realized exactly how poor the family was, and exactly how grim her future was unless she was able to get a scholarship. Darcy felt sorry for the poor kid, because she knew exactly how it felt.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Rita! It's Darcy."

"Darcy? I haven't heard from you since like... the beginning of the summer. How are you doing?"

"Pretty great," she lied, "the city is awesome, as always. All of my classes are super exciting, I'm sad that this is my last year. You should come and visit some time, it would be fun."

"Yeah, totally. Maybe I'll come see you for Thanksgiving or something... that's only a month or two away."

There was silence from both ends of the phone.

"Darcy? You're not actually alright, are you?"

Darcy sighed loudly.

"No, no I'm not. I don't know what I'm doing with myself, school seems pointless, the city is stressful and I'm lonely as hell. I want to go back to New Mexico, I miss Jane and Erik."

She tried not to cry.

"Jane and Erik? Are those the people you were working with? Oh - crap, mom wants me off the phone because she doesn't want a high phone bill this month. I'll send you an email, alright? You should go talk to your friends, I'm sure they'll help you."

"I don't have any friends, they all graduated last year."

"I'm sorry Darcy, just hang in there, I'm sure it will get better. Nice to hear from you, even if it was only for like 10 seconds!"

Darcy smiled and hung up the phone, wishing desperately that she could just talk to someone for longer, tell someone exactly how miserable she was until she couldn't talk any more - then maybe she would feel better. She picked up the student handbook and flicked through it, opening up the page of counseling for depression. With a sigh she started to punch it into her phone, but erased the number before dialing and threw the phone back into her handbag.

"Ah, Miss Lewis! What a wonderful surprise."

Darcy almost fell off her chair at the sound of Loki's voice.

"Wh- wh - what are you in my room for?"

She stammered, trying to regain composure. He closed the door behind him and sat on her bed, a friendly grin on his face. Well - he was obviously trying to look friendly, but Darcy thought it was more creepy than anything else.

"Well, I came to introduce myself to the other residential assistant... but it looks like I don't have to introduce myself at all!"

Darcy felt uncomfortable, and regretted leaving her taser under the bed, opposed to in her purse. It felt as if he was trying to appear amicable, but she could tell that there was something weird going on beneath the surface.

"Actually I was just about to go to bed... good to see you though..."

She said cautiously, trying to appear happy. She hoped that her make up hadn't dripped from her eyes and stained her cheeks.

"At 6:30?"

Loki asked, raising an eyebrow. Darcy looked at him for a moment, and she could tell that he knew she was lying. She had always been a terrible liar. She continued to smile. He shrugged and stood up.

"Well, sleeping early isn't exactly bad for you. I'll leave you to it."

Darcy watched him leave, before turning to her laptop. She fumbled open her web browser and opened her email.

_TO: .GOV_

_Hey Jane,_

_I was just wondering, did we ever get a physical description of Loki - Thor's brother - or anything? Is it possible that an Asgardian made it down to Earth somehow? Don't worry, I'm just asking because I'm writing a paper for my Norse mythology class. Thanks for any help you can give me! School's great, I don't miss you two at all!_

_Darcy_

She sent the email, and cleared her sent messages box, suddenly feeling very paranoid. All she knew about the gods was that they were ravishingly good looking and distinctively well spoken, which was a description that her teacher was fitting in with quite well... and he had the name, which was quite odd. Even if she was being a little paranoid, it was better to be safe than sorry. Suddenly, that 6:30 bed time was looking rather good.

o

"How can I be so stupid?"

Loki asked himself, leaning back in his computer chair and putting his feel on his desk. He should have waited longer before moving into her apartment building, seeing as he had obviously startled her. From what he had seen of her around Thor she was snarky and spunky, and if he recalled correctly she had attacked his brother at one point. What he was faced with was a scared docile girl who seemed to jump at her own shadow - there had to be a reason for that. Unfortunately for Darcy, the 'making friends' method wasn't really going to work anymore, seeing as she was probably suspecting him a little too much to embrace him as a friend, so he was going to have to move on to the intimidation stage.

With a teleport he found himself outside her door, and carefully he pushed the door open, the locks clicking free quietly under his magic. He hoped she was a light sleeper, because if Darcy woke up he wasn't quite sure how he'd handle the situation. He gingerly opened her laptop and flicked up her email. There was one from Jane foster. He opened it and read it quickly.

_Hey Darcy,_

_Physically? Thor mentioned it briefly, I think he's tall, pale skin, dark hair, blue or green eyes, something like that. What kind of paper are you writing? That course sounds awesome. You should call me sometime, would be great to chat! Glad to hear school is awesome :)_

_Jane_

Loki closed the computer. _Shit. _That description was pretty bang on. He didn't have to see the original email to know that Darcy had sent something asking about him. Well, he was used to his plans going awry, so he was sure he could patch it up. He could always just abandon everything and move somewhere else - although, he really did like the city.

"YOU -"

Darcy yelled loudly, a look of fear and confusion on her face as she realized who was in her room. Without pausing and with superhuman agility Loki was on top of her, pushing her, his hand on her mouth.

"Don't move, don't squirm, don't take your eyes off of mine."

He said quietly in a serious tone, looking her square in the eyes. Darcy struggled and tried to scream under his hand, before closing her eyes and starting to cry.

"Oh give me a break, don't start crying. If I take my hand off are you going to shut up? I don't want you making noise."

Loki honestly hated it when girls cried - unless it was Sif, and she didn't cry. He didn't wait for an answer before removing his hand - he knew she was terrified enough to listen to listen to him.

"G- get off me you creep. M - my dad's a lawyer and I'll get you charged with sexual assault. GET OFF."

Loki put his hand right back down on her mouth as she yelled. He wondered why humans were so stupid.

"You're crafty but you're stupid, girl. When I say shut it I mean it. And you haven't seen your father since you were five, he's probably dead. I'm also not here to sexually assault you or hurt you at all for that matter, so calm down and don't yell at me. However, if you make a scene I _will _hurt you."

Again, he slowly took his hand off of her mouth. She looked at him with a very distinct distain.

"Will you at least get off of me?"

She asked tearfully. Loki shook his head.

"Look as teary as you want, I know that you're thinking of the taser under your bed and you're wondering exactly how I would feel if I was attacked by it. Well - it would hurt, but I can assure you it would make me very, very angry. So no. If you want, though, I can tie you up instead."

Darcy finally relaxed, although the fear behind her eyes didn't fade at all.

"So, you figured me out - good job. What exactly do you think I want with you?" he asked.

"I don't know, last time I saw you you were trying to kill a group of us. Why the hell are you teaching at my university?"

"Believe it or not, sometimes people - gods, rather - want a change of scene. This is a beautiful city, I thought I could meet some people. pretend to be human for a while. You kind of ruined it."

Darcy suddenly realized how close she was to him, and felt embarrassed. Loki seemed not to notice or care.

"W-well I've been going here for four years! How do I know you're not just following me or something?"

"Honestly, if I wanted to follow someone, I'd follow Jane Foster."

_It's odd, for a human she smells absolutely intoxicating... _Loki thought to himself, pleased that she had decided not to struggle against him. Loki felt a little spark of a rebellion within her, and perhaps even a sliver of evil... he wondered how much he could play on that. When Darcy didn't respond he continued to talk,

"I know how lonely you are, Darcy Lewis. I know that your mother doesn't love you and your sister never seems to have enough to time to talk to you, and your father couldn't care less if you were alive or dead. I know how it feels. _I _want to spend time with you, I won't brush you aside or send you away once the summer ends."

Darcy looked puzzled. _What is he trying to pull? _She wondered, feeling strangely enticed.

"You want to use me to get to Jane? Am I right?"

She asked. Loki released her wrists and she sat up, pulling away from him and resting against the wall. He moved closer to her again.

"Well, I am interested in what Jane's doing... but I'm suddenly starting to find you more and more intriguing..."

He leaned close, and twirled a piece of her hair amount his finger.

"You have beautiful hair."

Darcy yanked the hair away, looking him up and down critically. For a man he was oddly feline, looking at her like a hungry cat.

"There's a myth," she said, "that you cut off all of Sif's hair."

"That's no myth."

"Well, I'm never going to let you near scissors."

Loki noted that he tone had changed - suddenly she was speaking as if there _would _be future interactions between the two of them. Perfect.

"That won't help, I'm afraid I'm more drawn to the knife. Gives me more of a thrill."

"You're a creep."

"I am. Now, I have a leadership summit this weekend I must attend, and I'm supposed to bring a student. Guess which student I want to bring?"

"What exactly makes you think I want to go anywhere with you?"

Loki laughed quietly.

"I said 'guess which student', not 'do you want to come'. You don't have a choice. Don't worry - it'll be romantic: just you, me, and a couple of other people from each faculty. I think it's in the Thousand Islands region, if I remember correctly. "

Darcy put leaned forward, pushing against his chest.

"Get out get out get out get out."

"As you wish. I expect to see you at my office on Friday afternoon. If you don't show up - I'll find you. And take my word for it: I find people _quite _quickly when I want to."

Darcy flinched as there was a violent shift of air in here room, leaving her curtains billowing. She realized, looking into the dark, empty room, exactly how alone she was in the world.

o

Loki walked back down the hallway slowly strolling back towards his own room. He was hoping that with any luck before he made it more than ten meters from Darcy's door...

"Doctor Laufeyson! What on Earth are you doing up at this hour?" Mr. Denny checked the bulky wristwatch he was wearing, "It's almost four in the morning!"

Loki smiled - in his expert way - in a way that made it appear he was trying to feign innocence. He beamed at Mr. Denny in such a way that his expression was bordering on naughty.

"Oh - good evening Mister Denny! I was just..." he glanced back over at Darcy's door, trying to look conflicted. "I was just paying Miss Lewis a visit. Nothing serious. It appears we both have trouble sleeping!"

Mr. Denny looked troubled, if not slightly suspicious. "Oh, heh, well then... I'll leave you to it... see you in the morning!"

The portly old man shuffled away, and Loki grinned so broadly that he had trouble keeping his mirth contained. Things could not have gone more perfectly if he had tried - he was no doubt haunt Darcy's nightmares - as well as her dreams - and Mr. Denny was under the impression and he and Darcy were having secret... meetings... in the middle of the night. If it was possible to 'walk on sunshine', that was exactly what Loki was doing as he sauntered back to his room.

o

**Boring optional authors note:** If you're reading/ have tried to read and got bored of my other Darcy x Loki fic, 'Things Left Unsaid', you'll know that Darcy is a snark-monster and Loki is oddly innocent. Loki and Darcy are an incredibly interesting combination because Loki is vastly intelligent and arrogant, but Darcy is stubborn and ditzy. Together they make a fairly hilarious combination, and the dominant one in the relationship could go either way. In Things Left Unsaid, Darcy is quite obviously the cat in the relationship, while Loki is the mouse who's just trying to live amicably with everyone else. This story I am reversing the roles, creating a more tragic, sheepish Darcy (hey, we don't know her past... might as well give her one!) and a much more manipulative, seductive Loki. Because think about it - I know I've felt this way about a multitude of things (anime conventions, summer camps, ski holidays, the end of internships) where it feels like the whole god damn world is over and nothing will ever get any better than what you've just felt. Can you _imagine_ have a face to face encounter with a god and then having to go back to school? Anyways, just wanted to put this story in a little bit of context. Sorry for ranting at the bottom of it! - Corgin


	3. Just Like The Movies

**No Coincidence**

**By: Thessaly Corgin (Corgin)**

**Chapter 3: Just Like The Movies**

o

"Oh my gooooood! That's totally my favorite episode, you have no idea! No way!"

Loki was starting to think that killing himself was a good option. So far he had sat there quietly in the bus for three hours and listen to Darcy relentlessly flirt with the man she decided to sit next to. The girl who was sitting next to Loki had been glancing up at him from the corner of her eye, and Loki couldn't decide if she was doing it because she fancied him or because she was annoyed at how anti social he was being. The whole bus was alive with chatter, except for the two of them. Loki thumped his head on the window a few times and Darcy started howling with laughter again.

"You think you're bothered by it? I brought the boy on the trip to seduce him."

The girl beside him said, her arms crossed tightly against her breast and her eyebrows furrowed. Loki's ears twitched at the familiar accent and sentence structure.

"Seduce him? Should I bother asking why?"

Loki's tone was bored, but his reply caused her to turn sharply towards him, and look him up and down. Loki didn't return the action, looking straight on at the seat in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of platinum hair and a devilish smile. He missed that smile...wait... _No._ _No, no no no. _He thought frantically, suddenly realizing exactly who was sitting next to him. He had no idea if she planned on being hostile or not. He quickly put his arm around her, crushing her against his chest and hoping she didn't scream.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Amora the Enchantress! What an absolutely wonderful surprise."

"Hey-hey what are you doing, let go you... you creep.." She yelped as she struggled against him, her strength contending with his. Loki, a much more agile and fit warrior, held strong against her.

"Hush child, keep your voice down or I'll teleport half way to Asgard and leave you there. Why are you here? Remember I could kill you in half a second and make it look like a heart attack."

"Okay, okay, okay, I'll talk, let go."

Loki released the girl, smirking as she rubbed her shoulders gingerly where he had held her - he always had been far stronger in all regards. She flipped her disheveled blonde hair back behind her shoulders, smoothing it out.

"I was around New York, I felt someone using Asgardian magic, I decided to go and investigate. I found a very crafty little Loki watching a very sheepish little pet. What are you going to do, marry her?"

Loki glanced over at Darcy.

"I have my own plans, none of which concern you at all."

Loki still couldn't tell if the encounter was intended as friendly or not. He smirked at her sullen expression.

"Hah! You're lonely. You wanted to see someone from your homeland. What's wrong, tired of abusing earth boys and throwing them in the trash?"

Loki was, of course, referring to Amora's habit of manipulating men with her sexuality and then disposing of them once she achieved her goal. Loki had to admit, it mustn't be that hard for her to do - she was pleasing to look at. Amora glanced back at him shyly, before looking away from his eyes. He pulled her to his chest again, this time affectionately. She hugged him back.

"Believe me, Amora, you're not the only one who's been banished. Asgard's doors are no longer open to all of the gods."

Suddenly, all Loki could think about was his time spent with Amora as a child, a teenager. The silly girl was always out chasing after Thor like a love-sick kitten, but every time she was rejected she would come sulking back to Loki. He closed his eyes... he always wondered why she didn't just give him a chance... sure, he wasn't blonde and muscly like Thor... but there was chemistry there, it was a shame that had to go to waste. He felt her lips against his neck and opened his eyes, gruffly pushing her away.

"Damn it, woman," he said sharply, wiping the dark pink lipstick from his white collar, "use your seduction magic on mortal men, don't you dare touch me with it."

Amora gave a sultry laugh.

"I use no magic, lie smith, any thoughts you had were thoughts of you own."

The neutral expression Amora gave him made Loki doubt himself.

"Does it bother you that I only ever wanted your brother?"

She asked, pulling herself closer again and putting a hand on Loki's cheek. He was starting to wonder if Amora was just _that _lonely, that she would try and prey on him, or if she was actually trying to accomplish something. He felt frozen as her fingers slid down his neck, her side pressed against his.

"Don't worry Loki... your brother isn't around anymore, is he?"

He turned towards her, running one of his hands along her stockinged thigh. _No. This isn't right. What is going on? _He thought to himself, trying to say it out loud but drawing a blank. He felt as if her was trapped inside a rigid cage.

"If you don't want it... just say no..."

She said with a twisted smile as she put a finger under his chin and tipped his head back, face to face with him . _No, no, no, no. _Loki thought, desperately trying to push her away, or say no. He could feel her breath on his lips. _Damn woman and her damn magic... _

"Hey! Who are you and what are you doing to my professor?"

Darcy sat backwards on her seat, looking over at Loki and Amora. The blonde turned around and smiled sweetly to the disgruntled girl.

"Oh... nothing. We're just old friends. You must be the student he's brought along."

"Yeah, actually, I am... and I think him and I have some coursework related things to talk to him about, if you don't mind..."

Amora's smile didn't waver.

"Yes. Of course."

She chimed, as her smile suddenly seemed poisonous accompanied by the sharp undertones in her speech. The two women promptly switched places, and Darcy poked Loki, who was staring lifelessly out the window. Over the last few days Darcy had calmed down and didn't find herself afraid of Loki at all... if anything he was someone who understood what she had experienced over the summer... even if he was trying to kill her.

"Loki? Are you okay?"

He turned to her with wide, tired eyes.

"Please. _Please. _Never let that woman near me again."

"Wow, you actually look scared."

"Perhaps slightly shocked. We'll talk about it later. I assume you're going to want to run off with your new friend once the bus gets to the cabin site? You have a few hours before dinner."

Darcy nodded, "Yeah! There are tons of awesome people here I can meet, and Simon is super nice."

Loki rolled his eyes. So far as he could feel from that man Darcy was talking to, there was nothing good about him. If Darcy had a spark of evil, this man had an ocean. _Great taste in men_ he thought with an inward chuckle. It wasn't his business to pick who Darcy messed around with.

"Sure. I'll probably just stick around our cabin, so if you want me to punch anyone you know where I am."

There was silence.

"That last comment was in sarcasm, I have no desire to harm anyone here just because you wish me to."

The bus pulled up to the camp site, and slowly everyone funneled out out the grass. Cabin keys were assigned and maps were handed out, as well as timetables and brochures about natural landmarks in the area. Loki and Darcy made their way to the cabin to drop off their bags, and once they were in the room Loki locked the door. Darcy still wasn't accustomed to how quick and agile Loki was, and jumped slightly when he was suddenly right up in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders and mumbled quietly.

"Whatever magic Amora uses I'm practically powerless against right now, until I figure it out. I have no idea if it's because I'm a man or just because she's become that strong, but if her little game gets out of hand I might be incapacitated. She's here for something, I don't know if it's me or something else, but she's trying to get me tangled in it. I need you to-"

"Wait, is she a god?"

"Hush child, I'm whispering for a reason. There's a good chance she's watching right now, and you probably just ruined it. Just remember... for my sake, don't leave the cabin at night, or I'm going to get sexually assaulted in my sleep."

Loki smiled, trying to inject some mirth into the situation, which caused a mildly amused Darcy to smirk and pat him on the shoulder.

"You know, it's kind of cute to watch you squirm over something, it's almost nice to see someone boss you around. I'm going to hang out with Simon, see you later."

"Darcy wait."

Darcy turned back around, the door half open.

"Not that it's my place, but Simon's a creep. Remember that, I'll say nothing more."

Darcy smiled weakly in recognition and left. As Darcy closed the door Loki shivered at an unmistakable shift of air in the room.

"I want to talk."

Amora said from behind him. Loki didn't turn to face her, and just walked for the door.

"If we're talking, we're talking outside. And don't you dare make any moves on me, you're already half way to giving me a heart attack."

Outside the sun was shining and all of the summit participants were scattered around, some sitting solitarily by themselves, some swimming (although Loki thought a human would have found it rather cold). Amora frowned.

"Now... how about somewhere a little bit more private?"

She grabbed Loki's arm firmly, as if to drag him somewhere, and he quickly swatted her off.

"Don't be foolish, you can't disappear in front of humans, too many questions are asked. Go behind the cabins.'

The pair went back behind the cabins, scurrying like guilty high school students.

"Ooh, doesn't this feel naughty?"

"Shut up and tell me where we're going."

Loki really didn't want to put up with her crap, but before he could say anything more she grabbed his arm again and without blinking Loki found himself deep in a forest. He glanced around, noting that the forest had the same trees as the camp site, meaning that she hadn't taken them too far away. Amora skipped up the forest path up to the top of the bluff, which was overlooking the lake. Loki wondered how exactly she had gotten away with wearing a miniskirt and heels when she was supposably a professor or teacher at university.

"How's this for a view? Much nicer than sitting at the lake."

Loki struggled not to make any comments about how far up her skirt he could see as he climbed up on top of a rock behind her, determined not to show that she was still managing to make him both curious and uncomfortable. Loki had to admit that she was right - from their perch they could see the whole lake and cabin site, as well as miles and miles beyond it - it was beautiful. Amora grabbed a bit of Loki's hair and pulled on it.

"I liked your hair when you were a teenager, it looked nice long. You should grow it."

"I'll do what I want. Now, what do you want to talk about. I'm not here for small talk."

"Tsk, tsk, Loki. You've grown into such a boring man. I want to talk about nothing in particular, just wanted to chat."

Loki was already sick of Amora playing innocent, and when Loki didn't respond, Amora started rambling on at him.

"Do you remember that time Thor got you drunk? That was hilarious."

"Was it? I don't remember, I was probably too busy crying and trying to explain to my father how I had absolutely destroyed my room with magic."

Amora laughed and slapped him on the back. Loki flinched - he wasn't used to Asgardian strength since he had spent so much time with the humans.

"Oh, oh, and that other time Thor and his friends hunted down your pet boar and killed it."

"That wasn't funny at all. I recall liking that boar."

"Ah well, you've never been much of an animal person, they were probably putting it out of its misery early. Oh, and that other time you cut off all of Sif's hair? _That _was funny."

Loki finally stopped frowning and chuckled.

"Yes, that was definitely funny. That woman never forgave me, you know? Up until the day I left Asgard she hated me... and I'm fairly sure she hates me still!"

"Wait, you left Asgard? I thought you were kicked out."

"I left, in a sense. I suppose you can say I had a falling out with my father and brother."

"No way! Odin and Thor loved you."

"You only say Thor loved me because you loved him. He was an arrogant child who treated me as a lesser being. And as for my father? Let's just say I was adopted, because that's a much nicer way of putting it."

Amora shook her head, and Loki could tell that she was thinking about Thor. Thor, Thor, Thor, all of these stupid women only seemed to think about Thor, even Darcy. Amora leaned against him, and Loki eyed her warily.

"Relax, I'm not pulling anything, I'm just cold."

Loki knew perfectly well that she wasn't actually cold. He put his arm around her and smiled, finding that somewhere, deep in his heart, he did have affection for her. He felt the pull of her magic trying to seduce and entice him, which just caused him to roll his eyes - she was such an amateur. You couldn't pull the same trick on Loki more than once.

o

"Man, this is just like summer camp in the movies or something it's awesome?"

Darcy looked around at all of the other young people, most of which were paired up. She half wondered if it was sexual education camp for college students.

"What? Oh yeah, right. Awesome."

Simon responded. Darcy walked on with a stupid smile as the headed towards the lake.

"So have you been row boating before? Because I totally don't want to get stuck out on the water or anything like that, that would suck," she glanced at Simon, reconsidering, "or maybe that would be fun!"

Simon shrugged, "I don't know, it''s just a boat. We'll be fine."

Darcy nodded confidently and continued to march right on towards the lake. The two of them easily got out onto the water quite easily, and began to row out on the lake. Other groups had done the same as them, and pods of boats floated around like flocks of ducks.

"Sooo... when did you transfer to NYU?"

Darcy asked. Simon looked away.

"Uh... just this year. I'm studying... law..."

"Oh yeah? That's pretty cool. Why did you decide to come on the leadership summit?"

"Lots of girls? I don't know, looked fun."

Darcy frowned, beginning to wonder if Loki's evaluation of Simon was correct.

"Where did you go to school?"

"Uh... doesn't matter. Listen, I'm hungry, want to get dinner now?"

Darcy smiled cheerfully.

"Sure! I course, that sounds great."

They rowed the boat back in to shore after only being out on the water for twenty minutes, and headed for the camp food hall. By the time they made their way back to camp the sun was tucking itself rosily behind the mountains as nightfall swiftly approached. The half moon was already shiny brightly against the soft blue sky, and not a single cloud threatened the perfect night. Darcy picked two plates of food, planning to bring one to Loki in the cabin, but found that he was already in the food hall with Amora, chatting away happily. Loki had a genuine smile on his face, and the pair appeared in animated conversation, just like old friends would be. Darcy sighed, _not jealous, _she told herself, _there's nothing to be jealous about. _She walked out of the hall, following Simon.

"You would not believe their faces," Loki said, his grin still not fading, "there I was, sitting on the throne with Odin's spear, and they all just looked at me dumbfounded."

Amora howled with laughter, "And how did it feel, King Loki, sitting on the throne?"

Loki thought for a moment. "Well, it was a moment I had been waiting for for a _long _time. So it felt quite great. Do they have any more of this wine?"

"Yeah, you want white or red?"

"Red. I'll take red."

Amora came back with another bottle of red wine. She poured them each of glass with a sultry smile.

"Well, Little-Loki-Liesmith, I'd say we've come a long way since our teenage-hood in Asgard... so, I propose a toast, to us."

They clicked glasses. "To us." Loki echoed, draining his glass in gulp. Loki turned around to see Darcy and another figure fading off into the distance. Amora took his cheek and turned his face back around.

"Don't worry about her, Simon is a nice boy."

Loki, too happy and perhaps too drunk, didn't notice any sinister undertones in the woman's voice.

"So," he asked, "Where are we going next?"

o

"I - hey, stop... _stop... _you're going to rip my shirt. I don't hit Earth girls, but I'm not scared of hitting you, let go or..."

Loki's voice faltered out as Amora's lips ran down his neck and dipped below his collar line as she unbuttoned his shirt.

"Stop... stop..."

Loki mumbled, knowing that the words meant nothing. He quietly wondered how exactly she had managed to crack him so fast, and was curious to know if it was actually magic or not. It sure _felt_ real, he knew that much. He was, however, objecting to her being on top of him.

"Get off, get off you useless tramp..."

He growled, pushing her off of him and pinning her to the ground. Amora roughly pushed him away and stood up, Loki following suit.

"I never said you had any choice as to what happens to you." she hissed at him. Loki shrugged. "Last time I checked, I have a say about what happens to my body. I say let's wait and you stop trying to rip my clothes off. It was fun for about two minutes then I realized you have nails like a cat."

Amora looked shocked at Loki's sudden change of heart. He sat back down and patted the ground next to him. Reluctantly, Amora lay down beside him. They sat quietly for maybe half an hour, maybe an hour, Amora's eyes fixed on the sky. Loki gazed into the lapping waves of the lake, glancing across the reflections of the flawless cosmos. Away from the city lights, the night sky was aglow.

"Can you still remember which one is Asgard?"

Loki asked, leaning back and lying down next to his blonde counterpart. Amora squinted and pointed.

"That one. There, it's just tinged gold, just to the left of Jotenheim."

Loki nodded to her response, "Very good. Now... can I ask you... as a god stuck in the human world... do you spend your whole life looking up? Do you long to be back in the Golden Halls?"

Amora gave Loki a slow, sombre nod and rolled over to face him, putting her head on his chest.

"Every second of every day. The irony of it astounds me - when I still walked the Golden Halls all I wanted to know was what it was like to be human. Now I periodically forget what it's like to be a god."

Loki stroked her hair and kissed her forehead lightly.

"We'll make it back. I think that they'd find it rather boring if we didn't."

Loki couldn't remember that last time he had fallen asleep underneath a blanket of stars... or been drunk, for that matter. With a peaceful sigh he closed his eyes and nuzzled closer to Amora.

o

They had been watching TV shows all night on his laptop. _All night. _It had to be four in the morning or something. Darcy checked her watch.

"Well... uh, it's been uh, fun and stuff, but I should get back to the cabin and go to sleep or Loki will get worried."

Simon looked displeased, "You can just stay here the night. It's not like that Loki guy is your boyfriend."

Darcy decided that there was no decent way of saying that Loki practically owned her and got to decide her actions.

"Hah. No he's not, you're right. But I don't want him to worry."

Darcy put her DVD's back into her bag and stood up, slipping on her shoes and heading for the door. Simon followed her slowly, grabbing her wrist. "You really don't have to leave..." he said, leaning close to her. Darcy, not really used to the close proximity of others, froze up. Simon took her apprehension to leave as a 'yes' to whatever he was asking, and kissed her. His kiss was hard and rough, and she still wasn't quite sure how to react. He didn't take up her space like Loki did when he tried to psych her out - Loki was charming and deceitful, if not seductive. Simon was just plain forceful, pressing himself against her, which caused her to pull away.

"L-look sorry if I gave you the wrong impression but I'm n-not exactly at this camp to get laid like half of the other people here..."

Simon kissed her again, softly, before pulling away. Darcy quickly picked up her bag and scurried to the door, stumbling to find the correct words to say.

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

She asked. Simon smiled and nodded. As Darcy shuffled across the cabin site she noticed the definite chill in the air - winter was just around the corner. When she got to the far end of camp to her cabin she opened the door with relief, unable to decide if Simon had made her uncomfortable or not. She dropped her bag on the floor once she closed the door behind her, crossing her arms, tapping her foot - a certain dark haired professor appeared to be passed out face down on her bed. She walked over to him and shook him, having a momentary fear that Amora had killed him. He groaned around rolled over, his hair a mess and his shirt ripped.

"You look like you were attacked by a mountain lion." she said in a bland tone, "a mountain lion wearing a lot of lipstick."

Loki sat up slowly, mumbling "I did" as he did so.

"Why are you by my bed?" He asked Darcy.

"You're in my bed. Yours is over there."

Loki looked around, rubbing his eyes.

"The cabin floor is... not moving, right?"

Darcy laughed out loud, all displeasure quickly draining away as she realized Loki was drunk. He stunk of an nondescript alcohol.

"What the hell did you drink?"

She asked, helping him stand up.

"Nothing... nothing... just the wine. She's an awful woman, I thought I told you to keep her away from me. Magic... etcetera"

He said, referring to Amora. He walked over to and sat down on his bed, pulling off his shoes and unbuttoning the buttons that remained on his shirt.

"You have lipstick on your chest... all the way down your chest."

"Shut up unless you're going to point out something useful."

Darcy laughed and turned out the light on her side of the room, wondering if she should tell Loki about her encounter with Simon. When she turned back around to say something to him, she found out that Loki was already asleep again. With a smile she turned off his light and settled into bed, unable to let go of the thought that leadership summit camp was just like summer camp in the movies.

A/N: Amora is a sorceress from the THOR comics who was indeed in love with Thor and expelled from Asgard. Throughout the books she periodically teams up with Loki and they have happy fun times being dickheads to people. She's also incredibly hot. Honestly they're both such sleezebags I'd happily write a fanfic about the two of them sometime for fun. (Because this one is obviously about Darcy and Loki. Don't worry.)


End file.
